Star forwards Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz are both closing in on career milestones, as Keller is one assist away from 200, while Schmaltz is just one goal short of 100. Keller has five points over his last three games.
Player to Watch: Matias Maccelli continues to have a special season, as the 22-year-old still leads all NHL rookies with 29 assists on the season. He's also third overall in points with 34, trailing Mason McTavish (38) and Matty Beniers (49), while his points-per-game-played of .72 is just behind Beniers' mark of .75.
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE
The defending Stanley Cup champions have had an injury-riddled, up-and-down season, but still find themselves in third place in the Central, one point ahead of the Winnipeg Jets with two games in hand.
Colorado has been streaky, a trend that's continued as of late. The Avs won six straight games from Feb. 15 - 27, but have since lost four of five, including a 5-2 defeat against the Kings in their most recent outing.
Nathan MacKinnon leads the team in points (77) and assists (50), while Mikko Rantanen's 42 goals are not only first on the team, but also third in the league. Colorado has used five different goalies this season, and most recently played with the tandem of Alexandar Georgiev and Jonas Johansson. The former is 27-14-5 with a 2.64 goals-against average and .919 save percentage, while the latter has played just 23:15 in one appearance this season, appearing in relief back on Dec. 31.
Despite their rash of injuries throughout the season the Avalanche have maintained a strong power play presence, ranking ninth in the league with a 23 percent conversion rate (tied with the Bruins).
Arizona and Colorado meet twice more this season, March 24 in Denver and March 26 in Tempe.
Player to Watch: Look no further than MacKinnon, who's closing in on a second consecutive 80-point season. The 27-year-old center has already played 690 career games, and has five goals and one assist over his last five games. He has 30 points in 29 career games against the Coyotes.
